A Banana Conference

New Zealand Chinese Association (Auckland Branch) Inc. will be hosting a conference entitled “Rising Dragon, Soaring Bananas”. This conference is being organized in conjunction with the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas (ISSCO) and will again be held at the new University of Auckland Business School on 18 – 19 July 2009.

The programme will be an unique combination of  personal experiences presentations by high profile achievers from the local Chinese community with expertise in a very wide range of endeavours and an analytical approach of trends and outcomes from Chinese academics who are mainly members of ISCCO from many parts of the world.   It will be exciting, I'm looking forward to the contribution of knowledge this conference is bringing forth.   Take a look at some of the papers and presentations from past years!

Asian Canadian Publishing 2.0

In Vancouver, there are two publications which have very divergent approaches to not only Asian Canadian issues, but also the use of media and the web. Ricepaper Magazine, established in 1994, as a forum for up and coming Asian writers and artists in Canada, limits its definition of "Asian" to the Pacific Asian Rim ethnic groups Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Focusing mainly on writers of these ethnic origins, Ricepaper depends mainly on the quarterly print publication as its main point of distribution and have a very static website with limited updates.

Contrast that with Schema Magazine. Schema Magazine strives to reflect the most culturally mobile and diverse generation of Canadians, the generation it coins cultural navigators. We showcase their unique sensibilities, interests and their pursuit of ethnic cool. As Schema's focus on the Vancouver Asian Film Festival shows, the focus of "Asian" is broad and widely interpretable. Schema also uses Web 2.0 technologies as its main channel of communication. Not only does it use a content management system for its webpage, it also has a Youtube channel of Schema's interviews.

The two rival Asian Canadian organization offer an insightful examination into the changing landscape of media and publishing. Staff-wise, both are similar - yet, when it comes to coverage and reach of audience, Web 2.0 simply wins out.